Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2015, Vol. 3, No. 5, 136-139 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/aees/3/5/2 © Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/aees-3-5-2 Influence of Prolonged Food Deprivation on Ascorbic Acid Levels of the Brain and Liver in Clarias batrachus (LINN.) Nayan Kumar Prasad * Tribhuvan University, Nepal *Corresponding author: nayankumar.prasad@gmail.com Received September 02, 2015; Revised September 19, 2015; Accepted October 12, 2015 Abstract The present paper deals with the effect of starvation on ascorbic acid contents of brain and hepatic tissues in both the sexes of Clarias batrachus. The level of ascorbic acid content was found relatively higher in males than in females. The brain showed higher value of ascorbic acid in normal condition (43.24mg/100gm in male and 40.65mg/100gm in female) in comparison to the liver (17.59mg/100gm in male and 13.32mg/100gm in female). During prolonged food deprivation, the gradual decrease in ascorbic acid level has been noticed in both the types of tissues which can be related to enhanced gluconeogenesis. The higher depletion has been observed in liver (73% in male & 78% in female) and lower depletion in the brain (57% in male &48% in female) after 40 days of starvation. Keywords: ascorbic acid, brain, Clarias batrachus, liver, starvation Cite This Article: Nayan Kumar Prasad, “Influence of Prolonged Food Deprivation on Ascorbic Acid Levels of the Brain and Liver in Clarias batrachus (LINN.).” Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, vol. 3, no. 5 (2015): 136-139. doi: 10.12691/aees-3-5-2. 1. Introduction Food, shelter and propagation are the three basic needs of living world and vast majority of population has been suffering from food deprivation since time unknown. According to WHO, hunger is the single greatest threat to the world biota. Food-deprivation influences the biology of animals at various levels, especially the biochemical composition of various organs. In fact, organisms facing the starvation fight it at the cost of their own body reserves till death. Starvation is experienced in most species of fish during certain periods of every year largely due to environmental conditions and it affects different organs in different ways. Starvation also affects the physiology and other constituents of fish [5,6,14,18]. Prolonged starvation effects on red and white muscles of two fresh water teleost fishes have been studied by Kiran & Talesara [10]. They found a sharp decline in spontaneous activity and metabolic rate during prolonged starvation which was reflected by reduced activities of succinic dehydrogenase and mitochondrial – ATPase in myotomal muscle. Borah & Yadav [3] worked on the biochemical and haematological response to starvation in H. fossilis. They reported the decrease in the activity of lactate dehydrogenase in both liver and muscles as a function of starvation. The amount of protein, glucose and glycogen also decreased as the period of starvation increased. Letcher et al. [12] showed the size – dependent effects on starvation and mass loss in yellow perch larvae and juveniles. There is increasing evidence that starvation may be a major cause of mortality in both immature and adult fishes. Fasting also affects metabolic enzymes, RNA/DNA ratio and proteins in fish. It has a great impact on fish growth. Therefore, the present study was planned to determine the starvation effects in an economically important siluroid species. In the present investigation, the common Indian air- breathing catfish, Clarias batrachus were used as experimental animals as they are easily available in local ponds and rivers. These can sustain starvation for prolonged period. The present study is aimed to know the facts and causes of starvation and their consequent impacts on animals. A number of similar studies have been carried out by many workers but most of the works have been confined to mammalian fauna. In Nepal, little works have been done to study the starvation-induced effects in fishes. So, it is pertinent to see and reveal the effect of starvation on fish as there is a unique feature of fish to withstand prolonged starvation through physiological and biochemical changes [15]. In the light of above fact, the present work has been designed to know the level of ascorbic acid content of brain and hepatic tissues of Clarias batrachus during prolonged period of starvation of 40 days by estimating ascorbic acid constituents at an interval of every 10 days. 2. Materials & Methods For the present investigation, healthy live fish were collected from a local fish pond with the help of fishermen. The fish were brought to the laboratory in large earthen